Box for eggs and the like.



A. B. smut, BOX FOB. EGGS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED JULY B,- 1-910.

Patented Sepfi. 12,1911.

ALBERT E. STEIN, OE LOS; ANGELES, GALIEQRNIA,

BOX FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE.

To all who'mdt. may 001mm:

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. STEIN, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boxes for- Eggs and. the Like, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to a paper box. for.

eggs or similar articles, and. it consists ri marily in the provision ofa box whic is easily and. inexpensivelymanufactured from a sin le-piece of paper or card-board, which may handled in large numbers in a flat state before being filled with. the commodity intended. to be carried, and which will form a stiff and. indestructible package when set up for use.

There are minor features which will become apparent in the following specifica- 'Ilhe box as now made consists of a single:

piece 0t card-boardcut to: the required that the remaining operations of .assemblin the box are merely those of placing the di ferent parts in correct. relation, requiring no materials except those which are supplied and, no pasting or gluing operations. The

.box. is made with an interior horizontal v plartition supported. at a certain distance om the bottom by being'secured to both side walls of the box and by being supported down the center.

It will be understood that I lay no claim to the formation of the box from a single piece of material, to the provision of the oriz ontal. position or to the broad provision of center supports for the partition; but I do wish to claim the construction and mounting of the horizontal partition on the front and rear walls of thebox and the peculiar construction'of my central partition support. The construction of the partition includes the peculiar cutting of apertures and flaps for-holding the eggs or other articles securely in position without danger of breaking by movement.

There arealso. other features of the general construction of the box which I claim as new. Thesefeatures'have to do with the formation ofa simple and eflective closure of the box. and the stiffness of the whole structure when closed. Brime among these is. the peculiar construction of the front Specificationot Letters Patent.

Appllcatlonflled July 8, 1910. Serial-No. 571 1198,

Patented Sept. 12 1911.

- member of the box. and. of the flap on. the

end well, this combination aifondin a slniple and effective lock, and, in combination with-thepartition.fsatures, holding the box in sha ewhile being filledwhen the top.

is up. T ese features, and accompanying ones, will appear at greater: length in; the following specification.

Inthe accompanying drawings: L

is a plan view of the blank for. the

box, the full lines representing the cut edges of the different portions of the blank and the dotted lines representing the scoring or creasing lines. at which. the blank is to .be folded. Fig.. 2 is a; view showing the first stage in foldin the box. Fig. 3 shows the box collapsed or shipment. Fig. 4 is a section. showing the position of the wire stitching. Fig. 5 is a perspective viewshowing the first step in' setting u the'box. Fig. 6 1s a similar view showing the second step. Fig. 7 is a similar view showingthe box ready for closure. .Fig. 8-is. an enlargedshape and partially fastened together so detail perspective showin the means for locking the end walls in place. Fig. 9is a detail perspective showing the construction. of the horlzontal partition in the box and showing the form and for holding the eggs 1n place to prevent them from having either a vertical or horizontal movement.

In the drawings a blank is shown which consists of. the following portions; atop cover 5 having aflap- 6, end covers-7 having flaps 8, back wall 9, and pieces 10 attached thereto, bottom: 11, ends 12 attached thereto, endflaps 13, front 14, front partition sup? porting portion 15, horizontal partition 16,

position of the flaps rear partition supporting glue flap 17, and

end partition support and flaps 18 and. 19. The peculiar cutting of partition 16 will be explained hereinafter.

The first operation consists in applying adhesive material to flap 17 and in bending the blank over on line 20 between portions 14: and 15, laying partition 16 on portions 11 and 14- as shown 'in Fig. 2. The other end of the blank is then bent over on line 22 between portions 11 and 9. Portion 9 is thus forced into contact with the adhesive material on flap 17 and the flap and portion 9 are secured together. Portion 5 is then bent back on line 50 to the position shown in Fig. 4 and staples 21 or other and 15 together ans illustrated. The box is sold to the trade, and otherwise handled before filling, in the form shown in Fig. 3.

When it is desired .touse the box it is opened up as shown in Fig. 4 by pulling upwardly and rearwardly on portions 5 and.

' 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, bending along line 23 at the edge-of flapr7 and along'line 24 at the edge of partition supporting portion 15. The sizesof the various portions are so arranged that when the box is o ened -up the front edge of partition 16 will e supported at the same height on the front wall 14 as the rear edge of the partition is supported on rear wall 9. The next operation comprises the turning down of supporting members 18 and the passage of flaps 19 within and behind front 14. End pieces 10 are then turned in as shown in Fig.- 5. Ends 12 are then turned up and end flaps 13 forced into the space between flaps 19 and portion 15 and front 14. The upper edges of flaps 13 are formed with straight portions 25 which 'must be forced 'into the space noted and which prevent the withdrawal of ends 12 unless some considerable force is applied thereto. Upon closing the box flap 6 is slip ed inside front 14, end covers -7 are fol ed: over ends 12 and flaps 8 are slipped into spaces 26 between flaps 13 and front 14.

The simplicity of assembly of my box-is position; and this operation is often awkward to perform and disastrous to the shape of the box. In my box the rear wall is supported by being attached to the partition 16; hence it is unnecessary to lock the end walls to the rear, the simple locking of the front wall amply suflicing to hold the front and, through the connecting partition, the rear wall in vertical positions. When the to is closed down additional support and sti ening members are made available, the top 5 connecting the-upper edges of the front and rear walls and the end covers 7 reinforcing ends 12. The box will remain closed tightly and securely without the necessity of tying or sealing in any manner, the different flaps and covers'all tending to hold each other in place.

It will be seen that thecover cannot be lifted unless flaps 8 are removed-from their positions by lifting end covers 7. Any ordinary pull at the top will not suflice-to open the box and expose the contents. This system of interlocking flaps and duplicate coversalsoflends rigidity to the complete the inclosed commodity:

Partition 16 is out into. the peculiar I formation shown in Fig. 1. The partition is divided into a number of squares, in each of whichthe card-board is cut into three flaps.- A center stationary strip 30 separates the cut squares and extends from end to endof' the partition, while a number of transverse stationary strips 31 extend across the partition, the'transvcrse and longitudinal 'strips inclosing the squares in which the cuttings are made. .There are two styles of cuttings, the squares on one side of the longitudinal strips being cut in one manner while the squares on the other side of the longitudinal strips are out in a sli htly different mannerr The material within each of the squares is cut into three pieces, each piece having an edge left in connection with one detached from the body of the partition. Flaps 35 and 35 are left attached to opposide edges of strip 30. These flaps are provided with extensions 36 and 36 which are adapted to cross each. other as shown in Fig. 8, whenthe two flaps are thrown down beneath the partition. When crossed, the ends just touch bottom 11 of the box. The engaging edge of flap 35 is made square to the line of attachment of the flap to strip 30 while the corresponding edge on flap 35 is laid off diagonally so that the diagonal edge will hook over the square edge as shown in-Fig. 8 andso that the 'op- 'eration of hookin the edges together may be accomplished y passing extension 36 through opening 37 rather than by'forcing the two extensions by each other. In this manner the flaps and their extensions are not bent or broken 'by being placed in position. These flaps do not directly form a part of the egg supportingdevice. They prevent the egg from moving laterally toward the center of the box but they do not support *the egg as do the other two flaps. They are primarily for the purpose of supportlng the central portion of the partition and preventin that portion of the partition from being orced down when the eggs are placed in the box. This is oneof the main features of my invention; the provision of a support which does not depend upon the egg to force it into position to'support the central o'rtion of the partition. The other two aps of the squares 4O and'41 on one side and 40 and 41 on the other side of central stri 30, are cut in the configuration shown an utilize the remaining portions of the, squares without waste. These portions are attached to transverse strips 31 and are adapted to be folded downwardly as shown in Fig. 8. In this figure it will be seen that edges 42 and 43 bear against the wall of the box and ,box, givingit sufficient strength to protect of the strips 30 or 31 so that it is notentirely above the bottom of the box is so arranged that the center of the egg passes below the points of engagement with flaps 40 and 41. These flaps then act in the manner of valve flaps and prevent the withdrawal of the egg until they are pushed aside. In fact, the

, box may be turned upside down when filled with eggs without dropping any 'of the eggs out of place The eggs each touch the box structure arm are held in place laterally at three points, two points where the egg is engaged by flaps 40 and 4:1 and a third point where the egg touches central strip 30. This method allows for different sized eggs without the necessity of making different sized boxes, the flaps 40 and 41 merely being moved farther down when a larger egg is placed in the box. v

From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention consists mainly in the features which provide a strong and durable box, easily set up, and a box which will hold its shape and support the eggs securely even when little or no attention-is given by the person whoplaces the eggs in the box. The support and braces or the eg supporting partition makes it impossi le to injure the partition unless an exceptional force is applied thereto. The stapling and gluing of the box pro ide for easy and accurate assembly without any danger of bending or breaking the egg supporting partition.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a box of the character described, a partition having a central stationary strip therein, flaps hlnged to both edges of the strip and adapted to be turned into engagement with each other, and interlocking means on the flaps.-

2. In a box of the character described, a partition comprising longitudinal and transverse stationary strips, flaps hingeably secured to the opposite edges of the strips, the flaps on the opposite edges of the longitudinal strips being adapted to be turned into engagement with each other and having interlocking means thereon.

In witness that I claim the foregbing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 1st day of July 1910.

ALBERT E. STEIN.

Witnesses:

JAMES- T. BARKELEW, JAs. H. BALLAGH. 

